AZ Alkmaar goalkeeper Esteban Alvarado, right, defends himself against an attacker who rushed from the stands during a cup match against Ajax in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on Dec. 21, 2011.

Olaf Kraak / EPA

Goalkeeper Esteban Alvarado kicks a man who atacked him from behind during a Dutch Cup soccer match against Ajax.

Olaf Kraak / AFP - Getty Images

Players of AZ Alkmaar protest after referee Bas Nijhuis gave a red card to AZ goalkeeper Esteban Alvarado. The match was abandoned when the AZ players walked off the pitch.

After a soccer fan in the Netherlands ran onto the field and tried to attack the rival team's goalie, the goalie managed to trip the unruly fan and then repeatedly kicked him while he was down. TODAY's Natalie Morales reports.

The Associated Press reports:

The fan, identified by Ajax as a 19-year-old who had been drinking, approached Alkmaar's Esteban Alvarado from behind, but the Costa Rican keeper saw the supporter in time and skillfully tripped him.

Immediately afterward, Alvarado, enraged by the unexpected and unprovoked attack, kicked the supporter twice where he lay before security guards dragged the intruder off the pitch.

Referee Bas Nijhuis then gave Esteban a red card for violence. Alkmaar coach Gertjan Verbeek ordered his side to walk out in protest. Read the full story.